Sociopath Quotes

“These days, I’m happy to report, I don’t have to work so hard. I’ve come to accept that my version of love is a mosaic: tiny pieces of broken glass held together by fate so the light can shine through in different colors. It is not perfect. Perfect, I’m afraid, is far too tame. The purest love is not born from bliss. It is pulled from the pyre. It is fierce and shape-shifted, slightly twisted and delicious. Accepting, forgiving, understanding, and relatably flawed, my type of love is the furthest thing from perfect. The closest thing to me.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I can point to research examining the relationship between anxiety and apathy, and how stress associated with inner conflict is believed to subconsciously compel sociopaths to behave destructively.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I don’t care what other people think. I’m not interested in morals. I’m not interested, period. Rules do not factor into my decision-making. I’m capable of almost anything.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Representation matters. I offer my story because it illustrates the truth no one wants to admit: that darkness is where you least expect it. I am a criminal without a record. I am a master of disguise. I have never been caught. I have rarely been sorry. I am friendly. I am responsible. I am invisible. I blend right in. I am a twenty-first-century sociopath.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“As a child, I lived in a constant state of doubt. I had doubts about the way I was supposed to feel and the way I didn’t. Doubts about the things I did. Doubts about the things I wanted to do. Telling the truth about these uncertainties sounded like a good idea in theory, but in practice I found it often made things worse. I could never tell what information was going to cause a negative reaction. It seemed like I was constantly oscillating between the poles of honesty and dishonesty, and I never knew where I would land.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Normalizing mental disorders—specifically the various symptoms of mental disorders—is essential to counteracting the stigma associated with those symptoms and replacing it with knowledge, understanding and, eventually, acceptance.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“My entire life, I’d wanted to disappear. But once I got to college, I realized I’d been going about it all wrong. The trick to going unnoticed was not to isolate but to infiltrate, to assimilate. By assuming the personalities of other people, I was no longer getting the look.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I loved people. I truly did. But the way I loved was different than most. And, if I was being honest, not all that compatible. I didn’t need to get love in order to give love. I never had. I preferred my affections to be anonymous. Independent. Not because I didn’t care, but because I cared differently. I knew it better than anyone: The most palatable version of me was one seen from a distance.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“my capacity for love is a fraction of David’s. But he expects me to match him all the time. And when I can’t, he takes it personally, as if I’m intentionally choosing not to love him the same way he loves me.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Why does the word “sociopath” make people feel more than it makes them think?”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I had been reacting destructively to similar sensations for as long as I could remember. So why am I still doing it? I wondered. I didn’t need destructive behavior to neutralize my anxiety any more than I needed floaties to keep from drowning in a pool. I just need to learn how to fucking swim, I thought.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“All I knew was that I didn’t feel things the way other kids did. I didn’t feel guilt when I lied. I didn’t feel compassion when classmates got hurt on the playground. For the most part, I felt nothing. And I didn’t like the way that “nothing” felt. So I did things to replace the nothingness with… something.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“In a universe where everything seemed to be associated with everything else, jazz was in a world all its own. The untethered notes didn't propel me backward in time or force me into imaginations of the future. Rather, they kept me in place, bounced around by tempos that didn't seem to be bothered by rules any more than I was.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I’ve come to accept that my version of love is a mosaic: tiny pieces of broken glass held together by fate so the light can shine through in different colors. It is not perfect.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“The more I paid attention, the more I noticed just how often 'apathy,' 'lack of feeling,' and the word 'sociopath' were associated with evil. Everywhere. From celebrated books like East of Eden and The Sociopath Next Door to award-winning films like The Silence of The Lambs and American Psycho, the 'sociopath' character composite was almost exclusively reserved for the 'bad' guys (and girls). These one-dimensional portrayals weren't limited to fiction, either. Anytime there was a sensational crime that captured national attention, or a politician who displayed callous indifference for their constituents, even respected journalists would to jump to invoke a diagnosis of 'sociopathy.' This despite having no training or qualifications to do so.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“At the end of the day, the only thing I can do is tell the truth. How people choose to accept the truth is out of my control.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“She was half right. Harlowe was a sweet girl. Although we’d only been in school a few weeks, my sister was already thriving. She’d been on several playdates and was easily the most popular girl in her class. People were naturally drawn to Harlowe. She was like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, picking up new buddies wherever she went. But I was like a blond, ferret-toting Wednesday Addams, leisurely repelling everyone in my path.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Mom, I realized, didn’t always tell the truth. And it was frustrating. I may as well just lie, too, then, I thought more than once, since I get in trouble either way.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Here’s the thing,” he said, gesturing to the men. “These guys have all done some messed-up stuff. But it isn’t just what they did. It’s that they ain’t sorry about it. They weren’t scared to do it to begin with. That’s why they’re in here.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Suddenly, I was furious with myself for telling the truth. It hadn’t helped anyone “understand.” If anything, it had made everyone more confused, including me.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Think you know a sociopath? I’ll bet you’re right. But I’ll also bet it’s the last person you suspect. Contrary to popular belief, sociopaths are more than their personality markers. They are children seeking understanding. They are patients hoping for validation. They are parents looking for answers. They are human beings in need of compassion. But the system is failing them. Schools aren’t recognizing them. Professionals aren’t treating them. They quite literally have nowhere to go for help.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“But social emotions—things like guilt, empathy, remorse, and even love—did not. Most of the time, I felt nothing. So I did “bad” things to make the nothingness go away. It was like a compulsion.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“On the surface I resemble almost every other average American woman. Social media confirms my existence as a happy mommy and loving partner whose posts are borderline narcissistic. Your friends would probably describe me as nice. But guess what? I can’t stand your friends.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future. —Oscar Wilde”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“I watched as she began to meander mindlessly, each step drawing her closer to the spot under the tree where I stood watching. Waiting. With the fortitude of my discipline only slightly stronger than the pull of my darkness, a sociopathic battle of wills was playing out only steps from where Ginny strolled, blissfully ignorant.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“The word “sociopath” was popularized in 1930 by the psychologist G. E. Partridge, who defined the disorder as a pathology involving the inability to conform behaviorally to prosocial standards. In other words, these are people who don’t act in ways beneficial to society and, rather, intentionally provoke discord.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Representation matters. I offer my story because it illustrates the truth no one wants to admit: that darkness is where you least expect it. I am a criminal without a record. I am a master of disguise. I have never been caught. I have rarely been sorry. I am friendly. I am responsible. I am invisible. I blend right in. I am a twenty-first-century sociopath. And I’ve written this book because I know I’m not alone.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“Psychopaths and sociopaths are in the same boat because they’re constantly looking for a way to connect those pathways. To feel. It’s why they behave so destructively. It’s why they’re so dangerous. Eventually, the constant weight of apathy becomes too much to take.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“People were always charmed—not with me, but by my reflection of them.”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath

“compulsion brought about by the discomfort of apathy,”
― Patric Gagne, Sociopath